Symptoms

Your medical team will likely be the first to recognize ambiguous genitalia soon after your baby is born. Occasionally, ambiguous genitalia is diagnosed before birth (prenatally). Characteristics can vary in severity, depending on when during genital development the problem occurred and the cause of the disorder.

Babies who are genetically female (with two X chromosomes) may have:

An enlarged clitoris, which may resemble a small penis

Closed labia, or labia that include folds and resemble a scrotum

Lumps that feel like testes in the fused labia

Babies who are genetically male (with one X and one Y chromosome) may have:

A condition in which the narrow tube that carries urine and semen (urethra) doesn't fully extend to the tip of the penis (hypospadias)

An abnormally small penis with the urethral opening closer to the scrotum

The absence of one or both testicles in what appears to be the scrotum

Undescended testicles and an empty scrotum that has the appearance of a labia with or without a micropenis

Legal Conditions and Terms

Reprint Permissions

A single copy of these materials may be reprinted for noncommercial personal use only. "Mayo," "Mayo Clinic," "MayoClinic.org," "Mayo Clinic Healthy Living," and the triple-shield Mayo Clinic logo are trademarks of Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research.